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The defending Division 2 state champion Pirates like to push the ball, so the Jaguars holding them to 23 points fewer than their per-game average was a good thing for Ashwaubenon. Pewaukee got the win despite only taking 31 shots, which is its approximate average for three-point attempts in games this year.

“We played the game we needed to play,” Jaguars coach Mark Tomashek said. “We never let them get out into transition, we made it tough on them, and slowed the game down. … We did a really good job in controlling the tempo and gave ourselves a chance.”

After leading by as many as 12 points in the first half, Pewaukee saw its lead diminish to 21-19 at the half and even fell behind 36-34 with less than 10 minutes left after Marcus Tomashek and Matt Imig combined for three straight three-pointers. Although Tomashek scored 16 points and Imig 15 for Ashwaubenon, the Pirates (26-3) did the things they needed to make life tough on the Jaguars.

“We wanted to play (Tomashek) tough on the catch and we tried to have a shadow toward him in case he came off a screen, because he does a great job of reading screens and making plays off of them,” Pirates coach David Burkemper said.

Milan Momcilovic helped the Pirates retake control over the final nine minutes, scoring eight of his game-high 18 points.

“We just take what the defense gives us; zone, man, we’re ready,” he said.

Ashwaubenon (24-5) made a final run, closing to 54-49 with 1:48 remaining before Pewaukee hit its free throws to secure the win and advance to its second straight championship game.

“I think people don’t realize that we’re down a starter (guard Emmett Loew to injury) and we’re still figuring out our rotations because he’s the guy who pushes our effort to another level,” Burkemper said. “But at the end of the day, we had enough remnants and were able to hold on.”

Josh Terrian added 13 points and Nick Janowski 11 for Pewaukee.

Devon Fielding’s heel, and the La Crosse Central season, were hanging on by the slimmest of margins on Friday afternoon at the Kohl Center. Each of them stayed in play, however, giving the Riverhawks (28-1) the 52-51 victory and a berth into Saturday’s WIAA Division 2 boys state championship game.

Fielding’s three-pointer from deep in the right corner with 24 seconds remaining finally erased a 10-point deficit over the game’s final six minutes. But the senior guard knew he was right on the edge coming off a flare screen.

“When I caught (the pass), I was ready to shoot it already. But I heard my heel was this close to the out of bounds line,” said Fielding, holding his fingers apart about an inch-and-a-half. Fielding led all scorers Friday with 20 points.

Westosha (25-3) had a couple of opportunities after the big three but could not convert.

The Riverhawks trailed 48-38 with 6:48 to go before making their last push behind trapping half0court defense. The Falcons would score only three more points, two of them on a Jack Rose drive with 2:49 left.

“Westosha is a very athletic team and we talked about not letting them getting transition baskets, and they did hurt with that early,” La Crosse Central coach Todd Fergot said. “We were a little concerned on whether we could pick them up in our full-court press, but in that situation, we had to do it and our guys really responded.”

Losing the biggest lead of the game in the last six minutes was especially painful for Westosha, which was making just its second state tourney appearance and seeking its first state win.

“When they threw that trap and press at us, we just got a little careless with the ball,” Falcons coach James Hyllberg said. “It’s a collective effort and we’ll take it as a team. It’s just our third loss of the season. It’s not one guy’s fault.”

Kenny Garth and Jack Rose each scored 18 points for Westosha, while Noah Compan added 17 for La Crosse Central.

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